Refined assessment of accessibility to hierarchical health care facilities in Xizang
The Xizang Autonomous Region is located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and has a unique geographical environment.The refined assessment of the accessibility to health care facilities in the region is of great practical significance for promoting the equalization of health care services.This study applies the geographical data of Xizang,such as data on topography and elevation,land use,road networks,health care facilities,and population,for refined assessment of the travel time to the hierarchical health care facilities at the 1 kmxl km grid scale.The proportion of population covered by different time periods of travel time to health care facilities is evaluated and the health care shortage areas are identified.In addition,the spatial differences between proximity-based and administrative district-based accessibility to health care facilities at each level are evaluated in order to provide suggestions for optimizing the locations of health care facilities in Xizang.The results show that the proportion of population traveling to municipal hospitals,county-level hospitals,and health centers within one hour at the township level in Xizang is 36.01％,65.55％and 86.54％,respectively.The proportion of population covered by low-level health care facilities is higher than that of the high-level health care facilities within one hour.By applying coupling analysis of population density and health care accessibility,the identified health care shortage areas in Xizang are mainly located in Nagqu and Qamdo.The areas with differences between proximity-based and administrative district-based accessibility to health care facilities are mainly located in Shannan and Nyingchi.Therefore,policies should be suggested to promote the convenience of local residents accessing the nearest health care facilities by crossing the administrative boundaries.This study establishes a methodological framework for the refined evaluation of health care accessibility in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,systematically evaluating the spatial pattern of accessibility to health care facilities in Xizang so as to provide scientific evidence for promoting the equalization of health care services in the region.
Qinghai-Tibet Plateauaccessibility to health care facilitieshealth care shortage areasrefined assessmentadministrative district-based accessibility to health care facilitiesproximity-based accessibility to health care facilitiesXizang
万方数据
维普
